The series “the Golden Horde”: the risk Ustyugov and Peresild on the set

Today on the First channel starts a new picture. The creators decided to show the time of the Mongol-Tatar yoke. However, the Director and the writers did not seek to recreate historical accuracy, and emphasis on the stories of difficult love.

Today, March 12, the First channel starts showing the new series of Timur Alpatov “Golden Horde”. The plot unfolds in the late 13th century when Ancient Russia was under the yoke of Mongol-Tatars. Envoy of the Golden Horde Tengri-Temir arrives in Vladimir to pick up 30 thousand soldiers. However, when he sees the wife of Prince Boris Hustinu, I am willing to settle for fewer people if the girl leaves with him.

In turn, Tengri-Temir “gives” Prince Nargis. Grand Prince Yaroslav faced with a choice – to accept the love of a young beauty, or keep it for the sake of the throne, because his people Nargiz does not accept.

At the same time Horde Khan Berke desperately wants an heir. It takes as third wife, 16-year-old Aizhan. However, together with Tengri-Temir coming young artist Nikolka who is willing to fight for the girl.

The Director and producers do not claim to historical authenticity of the painting – for them it was important to show human feelings in the difficult circumstances of life. Despite the fact that the creators mnogoseriyki consulted with historians, they have made the characters collectively.

“Initially I was afraid of historical inaccuracies. So in preparation, we have attracted three historical consultants. They all said completely different things, each kept in its course, every one said that the Mongols were such, or such. As was actually – will not understand, – said Timur Alpatov. – The fourth month of work on the material, reading different kind of literature, listening to advisers, I understood that the truth we find. It is because it was decided not to pursue historical correspondences and to remove historical fantasy, where everything is conditional. The genre of the “Golden Horde” is an action – adventure melodrama. Notice that historical accuracy is very important for us was in the other – in costumes, props, scenery. All the buildings that the Russians, the Mongols, established in accordance with the era”.

The casting was attended by over two thousand actors. Director Timur Alpatov has admitted that after reading the script seen as the main characters Yulia Peresild, Sergey Puskepalis, Artem Alekseev, Larissa Damasceno. However, the greatest difficulty came with the choice of actors for the Horde part. The selection process lasted five months, the team was looking for suitable artists in Kazakhstan, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Kalmykia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.

Yulia Peresild admitted that she was difficult to reincarnate and to experience the character of the heroine. She worked a lot on the role to convey to the audience exactly what is suggested by the creators of the film.

“Ustinja will stop at nothing for power, if you want to kill your kid, go for it. It is important that in Russia she is an outstanding woman, was given to marry a man she doesn’t love. And this dislike it nurtured the strongest leadership qualities. She has a serious ambition to capture the throne and control a large number of people. Most importantly, she has the brains for it! First, she’s manipulating her husband, puts chess pieces in Russia, but she was completely destroyed, burned to ash, sending her against her will to the Horde. However, she manages to rise from the ashes is already there and gradually begins to set its own laws. Even when her poison, she still survives. She’s like a cat, which a lot of lives. Unsinkable” – just as Julia described her character.

The shooting took place in Moscow and the Moscow region, the Crimea and Belogorsk in suburban Karadag nature reserve, where it was built, the backdrop rate of the Great Khan. The area of the scenery of the town of Vladimir was 5 thousand square meters. The shooting took place in extreme conditions of the actors – due to the fact that the location on the Peninsula argued in the spring, nobody knew that the fall rises a strong wind.

“And in that October, when we were shooting, there came a powerful anticyclone. Hell the cold wind we were exhausted. If the group is still able to be warmed, the actors were more complex: not only is the cold chilled him to the bone, but always had to touch-up – from the wind with our heroes flew wigs, mustaches and beards,” recalled the Director.

Also during the filming there were many unpredictable factors, which had to cope on set. The Director told me that he was worried about the lives of actors and the entire group. “The film is a lot of horse scenes, and so closely with the horses I was working for the first time. It turned out that this very shy animals, afraid of firecrackers, filters for lights, camera. Therefore, we have developed a system for their filming. And I didn’t know about the complicated relationship between horses and camels. We rented a caravan of Mongols who returned to the Khan. For the beauty of the frame I decided to put in his two camels. And on the Playground with a surprise that turns out to be a horse because they are afraid that scatter in different directions! Camels so we “hid”, putting at the end of the caravan, away from the horse’s eyes. And one horse-drawn cart, saw a camel, shook the cart and rushed at people barely stopped”, – said Alpatov.

The actors also had to try to become heroes of the middle Ages. They were forced to train before filming some scenes.

“The role required some preparation, because we are galloping horses and sword fighting. By the way, my sword weighed 8 pounds, and a chain about 20. On the “Golden Horde” I first sat on a horse, so before filming I had a bit to learn. With a horse I was “lucky”: it is “dressed” in the iron armor. It looked very impressive, but the poor horse barely moved, and I still needed it to portray something”, – Sergey Puskepalis, who played the Governor Erema.